Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best DVDs I've ever purchased, June 4, 2002
I love the film "Pollyanna" and have been waiting for the DVD for what seems like forever. I am very impressed by it! The picture and sound quality are amazing - so much better than the copy I have taped off TV from the late 80s. The film is presented in widescreen but I've realized not a lot goes on on the sides of the picture in this particular movie; in other words, you really don't get much more action with widescreen than you would have with the pan & scan video or a TV-taped version. However, this IS the film as the director intended it, and I think that's great. This DVD (actually two DVDs!) contains so much great stuff, I can't even list it all here. Let's just say amazon.com's list doesn't even get INTO what's on this DVD. There are so many little treasures, and something for everyone - Disney fanatics, Hayley Mills fans, movie freaks, and (naturally!) Pollyanna fans. My favorite features so far are the featurette on Pollyanna advertising, the one about how they restored the picture/film to make the colors how they should have been, and the one about Pollyanna merchandise. Plus, the audio commentary by Hayley Mills and the (now late) David Swift is insightful and interesting. I would also recommend the "Parent Trap" DVD for more of the same fun. The Disney co. really went all out for these DVDs and they are well worth the money. And if you've never seen the movie - it's an adorable family flick that I've loved for nearly 14 years. I hope you like it, too!
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a glad movie, March 7, 2003
I was a bit nervous seeing this movie as I was scared it was going to live up to it's title and be way too sugary sweet. I was pleasnatly surprised and even moved afterwards.Pollyanna is a delightful movie that lifts the spirits and provides many life lessons without ever being preachy or feeling like a school lesson. I was genuinely entertained and even a bit surprised at the bold steps the movie takes. Would you think this movie features a preacher most everyone fears, or has a bittersweet ending? I thought not. Well there's plenty more here to surprise you. Just give it a chance. About the only thing I fault the movie for is being a bit too long. Some scenes just seem to go on and on, but that's what chapter stops and the fast forward button are for. As for the DVD presentation, it's terrific. The movie looks and sounds stunning plus the second disc is just jammed packed with extra material. I was excited to listen to the commentary, but sadly it's as sugary and full of fake emotion as the movie is not. Still the other bonuses are well worth the extra bucks and there will probably never be a better presentation of Pollyanna.
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Disney and Hayley Mills Great, March 13, 2005
"Pollyanna" was the first and, in my opinion, the best of the first six movies that Hayley Mills starred in for Disney, the others being "The Parent Trap" in 1961, "In Search of the Castaways" in 1962, "Summer Magic" in 1963, "The Moon-Spinners" in 1964, and "That Darn Cat" in 1965. While all six of the movies are enjoyable family fare, this movie has a depth and complexity approached only in "Summer Magic."
In the first thirty minutes a wide-eyed Pollyanna is witness to the power her Aunt Polly wields in her town, named Harrington after her family. Pollyanna also quickly begins to learn that there are numerous stories in her town, which she learns throughout the movie piece by piece, ultimately giving her a power different from her aunt's.
This movie takes place in the early part of the twentieth century. Aunt Polly's genteel and Victorian behavior, even if a little stereotypical, has a feel to it that we often attribute to that era. At one point Aunt Polly all but uses the term "noblesse oblige," which is how wealthy people often considered their obligation to society. The clothing and sets all appear to be realistic, enhancing the period believability. The quality of the costumes and the sets is but one of the remarkable features of this movie.
The background stories provide a field of torment and pain to enhance Pollyanna's consistently "glad" outlook on the world. It is Pollyanna's attitude toward life that slowly changes the lives of everyone in Harrington, one person at a time. Even better, Pollyanna teaches those she meets that it is okay to feel good, and to make others feel good. Even more importantly, she teaches people to feel from the heart, which in many cases leads to love. Hayley Mills was so skilled in this role that she was awarded a special Academy Award for most outstanding juvenile performance of 1960, the last such award given.
The supporting cast for this movie can truly be said to be all-star. Jane Wyman, who was nearing the end of a career spanning fifty years, is Pollyanna's initially grim Aunt Polly, who eventually learns that she should do things because she cares, not because of the obligation of the rich. Agnes Moorehead, a veteran of more than 70 movies and a recurring character on the popular 60s television show "Bewitched," is Mrs. Snow, a grumpy hypochondriac who has one foot in her casket, though there is actually nothing wrong with her.
Karl Malden is fire and brimstone Reverend Paul Ford who manages to keep many of the faithful wide-eyed on Sunday; he is also under Aunt Polly's control. Malden had just finished "The Hanging Tree" with Gary Cooper, and there is irony in that the character in this movie is almost completely opposite that of the role he had just played. Veteran Disney child star Kevin Corcoran plays mischievous orphan Jimmy Bean, who helps Mr. Pendegast, the town hermit, break out of his self-imposed shell. Adolphe Menjou played Mr. Pendegast in the last movie role of his 150 movie career. James Drury of television's "The Virginian" plays George Dodd, who is the love interest of Nancy Furman, Aunt Polly's maid, and Aunt Polly does not approve of the relationship. Nancy Olson was also in a number of other Disney movies, including "The Absent Minded Professor" and "Son of Flubber," with an uncredited cameo in 1997's "Flubber."
This movie benefits from an excellent transfer to DVD and a move to a widescreen format. I recommend purchasing this movie in this format if you currently have the movie only on VHS or have yet to purchase it. There are additional extras that viewers with interest in the era and how the movie was made may find enjoyable.
The movie drives its point home at the end, when Pollyanna is depressed following an accident and needs support herself. The support she receives from the townspeople is a testament to the power of Pollyanna's selfless love, which touches the hearts not only of the fictional town, but those of viewers.
This heartwarming movie is more than an excellent family film, more than an excellent Hayley Mills film and more than an excellent period movie; it is a great Disney movie at an artistic peak of the Walt Disney Company.
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